22 CIRCULAR 435, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



house as soon as stripped and baled. The contract specifies prices for 

 wrappers and for fillers and usually stipulates that the tobacco shall 

 be free from damage when delivered. Occasionally the tobacco is not 

 sold until after it is baled. Pennsylvania Seedleaf is usually delivered 

 by the growers to the packers in the period from January 1 to March 31. 

 The bulk of the delivery is made in January and February. 



Some growers pack their tobacco in cases, or engage some packer 

 to do it for them at specified rates per pound. The cases are stored 

 to undergo the sweating process. Other growers have organized and 

 operate cooperative packing plants, but most of the Pennsylvania 

 Seedleaf is marketed by the direct-sales method and is delivered to the 

 buyers in bundle form. The majority of the growers seem to prefer 

 selling their tobacco before the heavy loss in packing and sweating. 



Pennsylvania Seedleaf is a very dark, heavy-bodied, and rather 

 large and coarse type as compared with other cigar-leaf types, but its 

 general texture, flavor, and aroma are such that it is well adapted for 

 use as cigar fillers. It will carry a relatively high percentage of 

 moisture without molding or damaging in the bulk or case. At the 

 time it is delivered by the growers the moisture content usually ranges 

 from 18 to 32 percent. Tests made by the Department of Agriculture 

 show that Pennsylvania Seedleaf should be packed in cases with an 

 average moisture content of about 25 percent. If it is packed with 

 less than 24 percent of moisture it may not sweat properly. If it is 

 packed with more than 26 percent of moisture it is subject to loss from 

 black rot and mold. 5 



Some packers of Pennsylvania Seedleaf practice bulk-sweating prior 

 to packing in cases. When it is handled in this way the initial handling 

 loss, including dirt and sand, breakage, and moisture loss, ranges from 

 3 to 5 percent and the average loss is about 4 percent. When the 

 tobacco is bulk-sweated the loss in the period from packed weight to 

 sampling weight is somewhat less than that on tobacco packed direct 

 into cases. The loss in weight from packed weight to sampling weight 

 ranges from 8 to 12 percent, averaging about 11.3 percent. 



Other packers of Pennsylvania Seedleaf pack direct into cases 

 without bulk-sweating. When packed without bulk-sweating the 

 handling loss due to dirt and sand, breakage, and possibly some 

 moisture loss, ranges from 2 to 3 percent. The loss during the period 

 from packed weight to sampling weight, which is principally a moisture 

 loss, ranges from 8 to 14 percent. The average loss during this period 

 is about 12.1 percent. Packing is usually completed in May and the 

 sampling is done the following fall after the tobacco has gone through 

 the first summer sweat. The first sweat is the hardest and results in 

 greater loss than occurs in any subsequent sweat. 



By the end of the first year after sampling, this tobacco usually 

 loses an additional 2.3 percent, by the end of the second year another 

 2.4 percent, and at the end of the third year an additional 1.7 percent. 



In case-sweating, the tobacco is packed in substantial wooden cases 

 all 30 by 30 inches across the ends or heads, and ranging in length 

 from 36 to 52 inches. The average length of a case is about 42 inches. 

 The weight of cases when packed ranges from 250 to 365 pounds net, 

 or from 325 to 450 pounds gross. These cases have K-inch spaces 

 between the end boards in order to allow ventilation and the escape 

 of surplus moisture during sweating. The inside of the case, except 



6 Unpublished data in files of tobacco investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture. 



